Combination threshing and separating machine

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a combined threshing machine and rotary separator for grain crops. The threshing and separator sections are disposed in axial alignment, with the proximal ends in substantial overlapping relation. Straw disposal means is located adjacent the distal end of the rotary separator section. Grain is removed on a conveyor at the bottom of the threshing section adjacent the proximal end of the separator. A blower is located below the conveyor outlet. The rotary separator section comprises three concentric cylindrical shells rigidly connected together for unitary rotation, the innermost shell being wholly perforated and provided with tumbling louvers on its inner surface. The intermediate shell is partially perforated and provided with deflecting louvers oriented to move threshed materials towards the perforated portion. The outermost shell is imperforate and has louvers on its inner surface oriented to move grains towards the blower and the grain trough disposed below the bottom side of the end of the outermost shell adjacent to the blower.

United States Patent [1 1 Khan Dec. 4, 1973 COMBINATION THRESHING ANDSEPARATING MACHINE Amir U. Khan, Okemos, Mich.

Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretaryof Agriculture, Washington, DC.

Filed: Nov. 26, 1971 Appl. No.2 202,119

[7 5] Inventor:

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 2, 1970 Philippines 12001US. Cl. 130/27 T, 130/27 Q Int. Cl. A0lf 12/20 Field of Search 130/27 T,27 M, 27 Q,

130/27 Z, 27 AD, 27 R, 27 H, 27 HF References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS Primary Examiner-Antonio F. Guida Attorney-R. Hoffman et' al.

[57] ABSTRACT This invention relates to a combined threshing machine androtary separator for grain crops. The threshing and separator sectionsare disposed in axial alignment, with the proximal ends in substantialoverlapping relation. Straw disposal means is located adjacent thedistal end of the rotary separator section. Grain is removed on aconveyor at the bottom of the threshing section adjacent the proximalend of the separator. A blower is located below the conveyor outlet. Therotary separator section comprises three concentric cylindrical shellsrigidly connected together for unitary rotation, the innermost shellbeing wholly perforated and provided with tumbling louvers on its innersurface. The intennediate shell is partially perforated and providedwith deflecting louvers oriented to move threshed materials towards theperforated portion. The outermost shell is imperforate and has louverson its inner surface oriented to move grains towards the blower and thegrain trough disposed below the bottom side of the end of the outermostshell adjacent to the blower.

5 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PAIENTED IIEIJ 4I9I5 sum sor FIG. 3

FIG. 8

FIG?

FIG. 6

FIG. 5

COMBINATION THRESI-IING AND SEPARATING MACHINE A nonexclusive,irrevocable, royalty free license in the invention herein described,throughout the world for all purposes of the United States Government,with power to grant sublicenses for such purposes, is hereby granted tothe Government of the United States of America.

The present invention relates to agricultural machines and moreparticularly to a throw-in type thresher wherein there is combined withthe rotary threshingdrum a grain separator unit comprising a series ofconcentric cylinders from which the grains are progressively separatedfrom the straws and the impurities.

Generally, a throw-in type thresher is a machine which comprises arevolving cylinder or drum and a curve concave steel grille, hereinafterreferred to simply as the concave. The bundles of rice-containingstraware fed into the drum where the beating action of the drum and concavedetach the grain from the panicle. A major portion of the grain fallsthrough the opening in the concave while the straw is discharged intothe separating section. The grain left with the straw is separated on astraw walker. The threshed grain is then screened in a series of sievesand finally winnowed by a blower.

In conventional throw-in type threshers, the rotary threshing drum andconcave eject the threshed straw in a radial direction on the strawwalkers. The duration of threshing cannot be controlled since the croppasses through the threshing cylinder in one pass. Often with cropswhich are difficult to thresh or are too wet, the threshing is notcomplete. This results in high threshing losses or large amounts oftailings which need to be rethreshed.

The tailings from commonly used throw-in threshers are recycled foradditional threshing. The tailings comprise grain that is not completelythreshed from the panicles. To convey the tailings to the main threshingdrum requires a conveyor which is expensive. Furthermore, by returningthe .tailings to the main threshing drum, an additional load is placedthereon which reduces its capacity.

The throw-in type thresher to which the invention relates comprises athreshing section and a separating action. The threshing section isformed by a rotatable horizontal threshing drum cooperating with aconcave and a metal casing that is provided with a plurality ofadjustable louvers. Because of this novel arrangement, the position ofthe adjustable louvers can be changed to vary the duration of threshingfor different kinds and conditions of crops. Thus very dry or easilythreshable crops can betreated satisfactorily with the maximum helicalposition thereby passing the crops through the threshing cylinder in onepass. Crops which are difficult to thresh are treated with the louversadjusted nearly transverse to the threshing drum which moves the cropspirally through the concave area thereby accomplishing multipassthreshing.

The separating section comprises a series of concentric cylindricalscreens with material for separation being delivered on the inside ofthe innermost cylinder. According to the arrangement, vigorous tumblingof the straw in the innermost cylinder loosens the grain from the strawand it falls through the perforations into the intermediate cylinder.This grain, including that which was removed through the concave at thethreshing cylinder, is moved axially until it reaches the screen portionwhere it falls through the perforations therein and is caught by theoutermost cylinder and swept against the flow of air from the bloweruntil it falls into the grain trough from which it is elevated anddischarged to any kind of container.

It is an object of this invention to provide an effective means for theseparation of grain from straw, especially when threshing wet crops,through the rotary separating unit without a clogging or choking actionand thus overcome one of the main defects: in previous threshers.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple, compact, onepiece rotary separating cleaner to eliminate the bulky straw walker andcleaning sleeve used with conventional thresher and combines.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a threshing machinethat provides a control on the threshing action of a cylinder bychanging the number of times the same material is threshed at theconcave.

A further object of the invention is to construct a thresher which willbe much lighter in weight to permit improved accessibility underdifferent field conditions and to permit direct, three pointlinkagernounting to a tractor.

The manner of accomplishing the foregoing objects, as well as furtherobjects and advantages will be made manifest in the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal section of the machine.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the separating section;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the concave;

FIG. 4 is a crosssectional view of the concave along lines 4-4 on FIG.3;

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of one of the teeth of the concave;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the tooth shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the threshing blade looking in thedirection of rotation;

FIG. 8 is another elevational view of the blade shown in FIG. 7;

For purposes of this specification, the end of the threshing machineconnected to the power take off of the tractor will be considered as thefront thereof.

Referring now particularly to FIG. 1, the threshing machine chosen forillustrative purpose is adapted to be attached to a tractor and could bemounted on a trailer or could be adapted into a combine with theaddition of a suitable loader. More specifically, a powertake-ofl (PTO)shaft 10 extends rearwardly from the tractor and provides power to thethresher by means of universal joint 11.

The thresher has a main threshing cylinder 12 and a concave 13 betweenwhich is fed at 14 the crop material. A cantilevered shaft 15 mounted onsuitable bearings.16 support the threshing cylinder. The threshingcylinder is studded with a plurality of threshing blades 17 constructedand arranged in a special manner. The blade face 18 towards thedirection of rotation is flat and tapers upwardly (FIG. 7) whereas theside along the direction of rotation is expanded to resemble a paddleand tapers toward the base (FIG. 8). The blades are arranged in aplurality of longitudinal and radial rows so that each blade on thelongitudinal row lies adjacent the center of the axial space between theblades of adjacent radial row. The construction and the staggeredarrangement of the blades eliminate the accumulation of straw and thesubsequent clogging of the threshing section The thresing drum 12operated in conjunction with a concave 13 comprising a series of spacedapart stud bolts 19 arranged substantially parallel to the threshingblades (FIGS. 3 & 4). The stud bolts are supported rigidly at theirlower ends by longitudinal plates 20 and provided with a plurality ofrods 21 which are closely spaced but allow the passing of threshedmaterials through the spaces between the rods. The rods are furthersupported by a plurality of transverse plates 22. The stud bolts 19 arelargely chipped away on the side facing against the rotation of thethreshing drum (FIG. & 6).

A casing 23 with adjustable deflecting fins 24 is provided on the upperportion of the threshing section. The fins 24 are planiform metal sheetsand are distributed at the central top portion of the casing so that anoperator by adjusting the angle of fins with respect to the threshingdrum axis can regulate the degree of threshing for a particular cropcondition. The fins 24 may be adjustably mounted in the casing in anyconventional manner.

The converging sides 25 are largely cut away to provide an auger trough26. Shaft 27 mounted on suitable bearings 28 and with helical blades 29therearound conveys the grains collected at the trough 26 into theintermediate cylinder 30 for cleaning (to be discussed hereinafter).

Disposed forwardly of the threshing drum in axial alignment and insubstantially overlapping relation therewith is the grain separatorsection which includes three concentric cylindrical shells. Theinnermost cylindrical shell 31 shown on FIG. 2, is perforated andprovided on the inner surface thereof with tumbling louvers 32 whichtumble and turn vigorously the straws to remove the remaining grainscarried therewith. The inner cylindrical shell is wholly perforated,perforations 63 extending all over substantially the middle portionthereof. On the outer surface of the cylinder are a plurality of spacertubes 60.

Concentric with the innermost shell is another perforate cylindricalshell 30. However in this shell, the perforations 61 are only along themiddle forward half portion thereof, as shown in FIG. 1, and also thisshell is provided with deflecting louvers 33 and a plurality of baffles34 on the inner surface thereof and on the outer surface thereof with aplurality of spacer tubes 62. The spiral louvers 33 and the baffles 34deliver the straws axially to the straw thrower 35.

A third concentric shell 36 serves as the casing for the grain separatorsection and to this outermost shell the intermediate and innermostshells are rigidly connected for unitary rotation by the several bolts62 inserted through suitable holes provided in the cylindrical shell sand through spacer tubes 60 and 62. The shell 36 is supportedconventionally by pairs of rollers (not shown) at the bottom and furtherprovided with annular tracks 38 for receiving belts (not shown) which goaround pulleys 37 keyed on shaft 39 to provide rotation to saidseparator section upon rotation of shaft 39. The conventional rollers(not shown) which support the outermost shell 31 are disposed inwardlyof rollers 37.

A paddle type straw thrower 35 is provided at the rear end of the grainseparator section. This thrower is in the form of a centrifugal blowertype fan and casing. The fan, mounted on shaft 40, is of the impellertype and comprises a series of radial arms 41 to which are bolted thestraw engaging paddles 42. A circular casing 43 surrounds the fan and issecured to the thresher chassis 44 in any suitable manner. The spout 45extends tangentially from the fan casing 40 and is in straw receivingcommunication therewith to receive straw delivered by the paddle 42 andconvey same a short distance away from the thresher.

In field operation, the materials to be threshed is fed into theentrance l4, and the cylinder-and-concave assembly threshes the grainsfrom the particle. A major portion of the-threshed grains with somechaff and impurities pass through the concave 13 into the auger trough26 whereas the straws are delivered into the rotary screen separator.

Inside the innennost shell 31, the straw is vigorously turned andtumbled. This vigorous shaking and tumbling movement removes grainsremaining on the straws which falls through the perforate wall portion46 into the intermediate cylinder 30 while the straw is axially moved tothe straw thrower 35.

The grains from the innermost shell 31 mixes with the grain separated atthe concave 13 in the annular clearance between shells 30 and 31. Thecombination of louvers 33 and fins 34 turbulently agitate the grainswhile being subjected to the stream of air provided by blower 47. Theblower 47 is disposed below the grain trough 26 rearwardly of thedischarge opening thereof, and rearwardly of the bottom side of therotary grain separator section to a discharge a stream of air axiallyinto the rear of the spaces between the innermost cylinder and theintermediate cylinder and between the intermediate cylinder and theoutermost cylinder or casing. The rear half portion of the intermediateshell is not perforated to provide sufficient exposure of the grains tothe stream of air for efficient cleaning of the grains from impurities.The lighter-than-grain impurities are blown into the straw thrower 35whereas the clean grains fall into the outermost cylinder 36 of therotary screen separator. The special arrangement of louvers 48 in theoutermost cylinder move the grain intothe trough 50 while baffles 49move the straw towards straw thrower 35. Elevating members 51 preferablymade of flexible materials are disposed on the outer rear end surface ofthe outermost shell 36 and adapted to move along the arcuate trough 50disposed below the lower rear end side of said outermost shell 36 toconvey the clean grains into container (not shown) for eventual storage,through a suitable discharge opening (not shown) provided on saidarcuate trough 50.

As shown in FIG. 1, the bulk of the straw follows the general directionindicated by the large light arrows A, while the chaff and small lightmaterial follow the general direction indicated by the small lightarrows B. The general direction followed by the grains is indicated bythe black arrows C with plain shafts, while the general direction of thestream of air from the blower is indicated by the black arrows D withcrooked shafts.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described above,it will be understood that this embodiment is illustrative only and thatvarious modifications may be resorted to without departing from thespirit of the appended claims.

I claim: 1. A threshing machine comprising: a. a chassis;

.b. a threshing section mounted on said chassis, said threshing sectionincluding a casing provided on 5 the inner upper portion thereof with aplurality of deflecting fins, a threshing drum horizontally disposedwithi said casing, a concave with a plurality of stud bolts disposedbelow said threshing drum, and a grain conveyor means below said concaveand said casing;

c. a rotary separator section mounted on said chassis forwardly of saidthreshing section and in axial alignment therewith, the adjacent ends ofsaid rotary separator section and said threshing section being insubstantial overlapping relation, said rotary separator sectionincluding at least three spaced apart concentric cylindrical shellsrigidly connected together for unitary rotation;

d. straw disposal means disposed forwardly of said rotary separatormeans, said straw disposal means having a casing with a spoutcommunicating with said rotary separator section and a fan disposedwithin said casing; and

e. blower means disposed below said grain conveyor means of saidthreshing section to provide a stream of air through the rear of thespaces between said concentric cylindrical shells of said rotaryseparator section.

2. A threshing machine as in claim 1 wherein the innermost of saidconcentric cylindrical shells of said rotary separator section isperforated and said innermost cylindrical shell has a plurality ofspiral louvers secured in the inner surface thereof.

3. A threshing machine as in claim 2 wherein the intermediate of saidconcentric cylindrical shells has an imprerforate rear portion and awholly perforate forward portion, said intermediate cylindrical shellhaving a plurality of spiral louvers in the inner side thereof to conveystraws and impurities axially outwardly upon rotation thereof.

4. A threshing machine as in claim 3 wherein the outermost of saidconcentric cylindrical shells is imperforate, said outermost cylindricalshell having on the inner side thereof a plurality of spiral louvers andat the rear of the outer side thereof, are uniformly disposed aplurality of elevating flaps said outermost cylindrical shell havingfurther on the outer side thereof annular tracks connected to a powertransmission means, and an arcuate trough disposed below the lower rearend of said outermost cylinderical shell along which said elevatingflaps travel to convey grains towards the discharge side of said trough.

5. A threshing machine as in claim 4 wherein said fan of said strawdisposal means includes radial arms having straw engaging paddles at theend portions thereof.

* k :lc

1. A threshing machine comprising: a. a chassis; b. a threshing sectionmounted on said chassis, said threshing section including a casingprovided on the inner upper portion thereof with a plurality ofdeflecting fins, a threshing drum horizontally disposed withi saidcasing, a concave with a plurality of stud bolts disposed below saidthreshing drum, and a grain conveyor means below said concave and saidcasing; c. a rotary separator section mounted on said chassis forwardlyof said threshing section and in axial alignment therewith, the adjacentends of said rotary separator section and said threshing section beingin substantial overlapping relation, said rotary separator sectionIncluding at least three spaced apart concentric cylindrical shellsrigidly connected together for unitary rotation; d. straw disposal meansdisposed forwardly of said rotary separator means, said straw disposalmeans having a casing with a spout communicating with said rotaryseparator section and a fan disposed within said casing; and e. blowermeans disposed below said grain conveyor means of said threshing sectionto provide a stream of air through the rear of the spaces between saidconcentric cylindrical shells of said rotary separator section.
 2. Athreshing machine as in claim 1 wherein the innermost of said concentriccylindrical shells of said rotary separator section is perforated andsaid innermost cylindrical shell has a plurality of spiral louverssecured in the inner surface thereof.
 3. A threshing machine as in claim2 wherein the intermediate of said concentric cylindrical shells has animprerforate rear portion and a wholly perforate forward portion, saidintermediate cylindrical shell having a plurality of spiral louvers inthe inner side thereof to convey straws and impurities axially outwardlyupon rotation thereof.
 4. A threshing machine as in claim 3 wherein theoutermost of said concentric cylindrical shells is imperforate, saidoutermost cylindrical shell having on the inner side thereof a pluralityof spiral louvers and at the rear of the outer side thereof, areuniformly disposed a plurality of elevating flaps said outermostcylindrical shell having further on the outer side thereof annulartracks connected to a power transmission means, and an arcuate troughdisposed below the lower rear end of said outermost cylinderical shellalong which said elevating flaps travel to convey grains towards thedischarge side of said trough.
 5. A threshing machine as in claim 4wherein said fan of said straw disposal means includes radial armshaving straw engaging paddles at the end portions thereof.